Device for treating wire



Jan. 13, 1948. L. R. HILL ET AL 2,434,565

DEVICE FOR TREATING WIRE Filed April 30, 1945 WITNESSES:

Patented Jan. 13, 1948 DEVICE FOR TREATING wmE Lawrence R. Hill,Wilkinshurg, and John J.

Keyes, Edgewood, Pa., assignors to Westinghouse Electric Corporation,East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April30, 1945, Serial No. 591,072

' Claims.

This invention relates to wiping devices for cation of a. portion of thewiping device controlling the amount and distribution of coat- I ingsapplied to the surfaces of wire and the like.

In applying coatings of varnishes, enamels, resins, lubricants, andnumerous othercoating compositions to wire, it is a desirable featurethat the coatings be so applied or treated that they form a relativelyuniformly thick film or layer on the wire. While numerous wiping devicesto accomplish this result have been proposed in the art heretofore, ithas been found that they are not capable of effecting a suflicientlyconstant and accurate control of the applied coatings. In practice ithas been found that most'wiping devices available to the art will oftenwipe on or two sides of a wire almost dry and other sides will carry agreater thickness of coating than is desirable. In some cases, the priorart wiping devices lack adjustability to accommodate ordinary changes insize and shape of the wire being treated. In other cases, the wipingdevices are subject to rapidwear without provision being made toaccommodate or to compensate for such wear. Therefore, a wiping devicewould permit progressively thicker or non-uniform coatings to be carriedby the wire until it was removed and repaired or rebuilt. I

The object of this invention is to provide an improved device foraccurately controlling the amount and distribution of coatings appliedto wire and the like.

A further object of this invention is to provide a readily adjustablewiping device for accurately controlling the amount and distribution ofcoattings applied to wire and the like.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a wiping devicecapable of accommodating a variety of wire shapes and sizes forcontrolling the amount and distribution of coatings applied thereto.

Other objects of the invention will, in part, be obvious and will, inpart, appear hereinafter.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of this invention,reference should be had to the following detailed description inconjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical cross-section of the wiping device of thisinvention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the device of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section through a modified form of the wipingdevice;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the device of Fig. 3'; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of another modififor thehelical springmember, forming the memof Figure 3.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, there is illustrated the improvedwiping device l0 embodying our invention enabling a constant and precisecontrol of thickness of coatings of enamels, varnishes, paints, oils,asphalts, and numerous other compositions on wire. The device i0 isshown associated with a wire coating device generally-designated as A.The wiping device l0 comprises a housing I! having a cylindrical chamberl4 therein and provided at its lower end with a closure member H; forone end of the chamber II. The closure member I6 is provided with anaperture l8 to permit the passage of wire through the wiping device. Theclosure member It has an enlarged recess 20 coaxial with and adjacentthe aperture l8 and a ring-shaped boss 22 closely fitting th walls andprojecting into the cylindrical chamber i4.

A plurality of machine screws 24 fasten the closure member Hi to thehousing I2. The upper end of the housing l2 remote from the closuremember 16 has an upper wall 26 provided with cylindrical aperture 28 ofa diameter similar to the recess 20. At the upper end of housing I2 ascrew thread 30 is provided about the exterior of the housing. Ascrew-threaded cap member 32 cooperates with the threaded portion 30 ofthe housing for rotatable engagement therewith. The cap member 32 isprovided with a recess 34 in prolongation of the aperture 28 leading toan aperture 36 for passage of wire, the aperture 35 being similar to theaperture I8 in the closure member I6.

. A helical spring member 38 constituting the wiping. element proper ofthe device for controlling the amount and thickness of applied coatingson wire is disposed within the chamber l4 and fits within recesses 20and 34 of the closure member and cap member, respectively. The helicesof the spring member 38 are preferably in contact with one another. Oneend 40 of the helical spring member 38 may extend radially ortangentially into a recess 42 in the closure member l6 whereby that endof the spring member isfixed with respect to the housing. The other end44 of the helical spring member is disposed within a recess 46 in therotatable cap member 32 for rotation therewith. It is necessary that thpitch of the thread 30 be substantially the same as the diameter of thewire, or longitudinal dimension if non-circular wire be used ber 38 forreasons that will be apparant hereinafter. The upper face of the housingI! car-' ries a plurality of spaced recesses 48 best shown in Fig. 2.The rotatable cap member 32 is provided with a single through opening 58capable of being aligned with any one of therecesses 48. A latch means52 is provided for passage through the opening 50 and into the recesses48 for locking the rotatable member 32 in any selected position orrotatable adjustment.

A resilient packing 54 is provided within the chamber l4 between thehelical spring member 38 and the housing l2. The packing 54 may becomposed of rubber, either natural rubber or a synthetic rubber orelastomer, such, for example, as polychlorbutadiene polymers,polyisobutylene, or butadiene-styrene copolymers, polyvinyl alcohol,polysulfides, and the like, or felt. The rubber or other resilientelastomeric packing selected will depend upon the chemicals applied tothe wire or the nature of the solvent present therein. The resilientpacking 54 may be spongy or cellular to provide for suflicient expansionwithout undue pressure.

The main function of the resilient packing 54 is to prevent wiped offcoating material from working up to the top of the device It! andredepositing on the wire or gumming up the outside of the device Ill.The packing also provides for centering the resilient spring member 38by preventing buckling or distortion thereof during use. The resilientpacking also prevents accumulation of paint or varnish or other coatingcomposition in the chamber l4 which would give rise to difficulty itsuch' accumulation hardened.

In order to compress the resilient packing tightly about the springmember 38 after it has been introduced into the chamber l4, the closuremember I6 is provided with a boss 22. In some cases it may be desirableto provide an adjustable compressing means for applyingmore or lesscompression to the resilient packing 54. A threaded machine scr'ew,passing through the closure l6 and projecting partly into the chamber Hican be employed for this purpose or the boss.

22 may be a movable ring adjustable by such machine screw. Alternativelya removable shim member between closure [6 and housing I 2 will permitvariable movement of boss 22 into chamber l4.

In treating wire with applied coatings thereon, the helical springmember 38 is selected with an internal diameter slightly larger than thedesired diameter of the wire and applied coating. As shown in Fig. 1,the wire 60 after passing through the coating device A consisting, forexample, of an enamelling pan 62 containing an enamel or varnish 84 isdirected upwardly to the wiping device ID. The wire 60 passes throughthe aperture l8 into the interior of the helical spring member 38 whereit is wiped to a predetermined coating thickness and passes out throughaperture 36. In order to adjust the helical spring members to a selectedinternal diameter, the pin 52 is lifted to permit the rotatable cap 32to be turned on threads 30 and rotated to wind up the spring member todecrease the diameter or to unwind the spring to increase the diameter.The thread 30 is such that the cap 32 tends to move away from thehousing as the spring member 38 is contracted on rotation of the capcounterclockwise, as seen in Fig. 2. This relative outward-movement ofcap 32 accommodates the'elongation of the spring 32 on contractingmovement thereof and the inward movement of the cap corresponds to theshortening of the spring on reverse rotation of cap 32.

When turned counterclockwise, as shown in Fig. 2, the helical springmember 38 is wound tighter, acquiring one extra turn for each revolutionof the cap 32. This causes a small and accurately controllable decreaseof the internal diameter or the helical spring member. The rotatable capmember can thus be rotated until the internal diameter of the helicalspring member wipes the coating on the wire 68 to the precise thicknessrequired. When the closure cap 32 has been rotated to the preciseposition required, the pin 52 is inserted within the opening 50 and intoone of the recesses 48. By means of this adjustment, a very closecontrol of .the final diameter of the coating on the wire 50 can beattained. If the helical spring member wears slightly after prolongeduse, the cap member 32 can be set to another position toaccommodate suchwear.

The helical spring member can be made of any suitable material desired.Ordinary carbon steel piano wire has been found satisfactory for mostpractical purposes. Alloy spring steels such as nickel-chrome-molybdenum steels and the like, can be employed if resistance to acidsand other corrosive materials is required. In some cases Phosphor bronzeor copper alloyed with beryllium and other metals may be used for thehelical spring member. Obviously the helical spring member 38 need notbe made of round wire but may be made of square wire, flat strip, or ofany other selected cross-sectional shape wire.

The wiping device [0 is customarily employed in position shown in Fig. 1whereby the excess amount of coating wiped off the wire 60 runs backinto the pan 62. However, the wiping device can be employed in ahorizontal position or in any other position required in use.

The device of Figs. 1 and 2 has enabled the most satisfactory control ofthe amount and disof coatings is readily controllable within a fractionof a thousandth of an inch. This feature is particularly important inwire enamelling, Furthermore, the adjustment of the wiping device onceobtained has been found to remain sufliciently precise even-after aprolonged period of use. For example, the wear on the helical springmember has been found to be negligible in wire enameiling use even afterseveral months continuous usage.

The helical spring member of Fig. 1 obviously is limited to thetreatment of circular wire within a limited range of diameters for agiven diameter helical spring 38. For treating wire of othercross-sectional shapes, such, for example, as square wire, hexagonalwire, flat strips, and the like, a modified form of the wiping device 18is employed as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing. The device 10consists of a housing 12 provided with a cylindrical chamber 14 andcarries a closure member 16 fixed at the low end thereof by machinescrews 82. The closure member 16 is provided with a relatively largeaperture 18 for accommodating the passage of wire up to a large size andof a variety of shapes. A boss on the closure member is provided formaintaining a helical spring member 96 in predetermined posipresent onthe wire. should be of a pitch closely corresponding to the tion, aswill be explained in detail subsequently. The upper end of the housingI2 opposite the closure 16 is provided with an external screw thread 88cooperating with the screw-threaded rotatable cap member 86. An enlargedthreaded aperture 88 in the cap member 86 carries a threaded centeringmember 90 provided with a :wire outlet aperture 92 of a diametercorresponding to that of the aperture 18 and aligned therewith. Thecentering member 90 is fitted with a projecting boss 94 of a slightlylesser diameter than that of the chamber 14 to fit within and tomaintain the helical spring member 96 in position The heli- The helicalspring member 96 will fit against the wall of the chamber 16 at oneextreme position, and by rotating the cap member 86 counterclockwise asseen in Fig. 4, the helical spring member 96 will become smaller ininternal diameter. By reason of the contraction in diameter the ends 98and I00 of the springwould tend to emerge from the recesses in whichthey are lodged were it not for the bosses 80 and 94 which constrain theend turns of the helical spring member96. The bosses 80 and 94 iurther.center the helical spring member 96 with respect to apertures I8 and 92.

Disposed within .the interior of the helical spring member is a flexiblepacking IIO provided with a predetermined sized channel II2 foraccommodating the passage of wire having coatings thereon. The resilientpacking IIO may beprepared from various flexible resins, elastomers orrubbers, both natural and -synthetic, or felted products. selected. asdescribed with respect to the packing 54. A sponge rubber such aspolysulfide elastomer'has been found to be satisfactoryfor the packingIIO though the rubber or elastomer may have any other predeterminedphysical 'structure to give a predetermined resiliency or of the foursides of the. aperture I22 to provide hardness, depending on therequirements of the application.

By removing the pin I06 and rotating the clo-' sure member 86, thehelical spring member 96 may becontracted in' diameter, therebycompressing the resilient packing H0 and applying more pressure to awire passing through the wiping device '10 and thus suitablydimensioning the thickness of the applied coating which will be Thescrew threads '84 diameter of the wire forming helical spring member 96in order to accommodate the resulting changes in length of the springmember. It will be obvious that other latching means than the ,pin typedevices shown can be employed. A spring plunger similar to'those oftenused on window sash, for example, may. be employed. Again the pins maybe replaced by machine screws and thus be fixed more securely inthreaded apertures 68 or I08.

The device shown in Figs. 3 and 4 will accommodate a variety of sizesand shapes of wire carrying a variety of applied coatings. The wipingdevice of Figs. 3 and 4 is particularly satisfacboth continuous filamentand sliver, and similar desirable to employ the internal modificationshown in Fig. 5 in the device of Fig. 3. As illustrated in Fig. 5,disposed within the helical spring member 96 is a resilient member I20preformed or molded to a square external shape and provided with asquare aperture I22 clo'selydimensioned to the dimensions of the wire tobe wiped thereby. The square resilient member I20 is fitted withsegmental members I24 somewhat smaller across the chord than its sideson each side for applying a uniform pressure thereto as the helicalspring member 96 varies its dimensions. polygonal construction ofresilient members and segmental members may be made to accommodatealmost any predetermined shape of wire.

The segments I28 permit the uniform converging the required thickness ofcoating on all of a square wire passing therethrough, It will be obviousthat this modification of the invention will permit the coating to beuniformly applied over the entire surface of a wire regardless of itsshape, and corners in particular will not be wiped excessively.

The term wire as. employed herein refers to elongated strips of anymaterial such as metal, glass, resin, or the like of any predeterminedcross-sectional shape, such as round, square, hexagonal, rectangular,and the like. We have been able to treat copper wire with'the wipingdevices of thisinvention from sizes as small as about size.

22 to as much as A inch rectangular and flat strip.

The wiping devices have been efiective .withboth hot and cold coatingssuch as enamels over a wide range of viscosities. The thickness ofcoatings has been precisely controlled wherethe range of viscosity ofthe applied materials has been from the order of that of-water to asthick and heavy as molasses. p

Since certain changes in carrying out the above invention and certainmodifications inthe apparatus which embody the invention may be. made.

without departing from itsscope, it is intended that all the mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 1

We claim as our invention:

1. In a wiping device for controlling the amount and distribution ofcoatings applied to wire comprising a housing having a chamber therein,a helicalspring member disposed in the chamber in the housing, -one endof the helical member being fixed to the housing, an adjustable, memberfittedto the housing for rotatable motion with respect to the housing,the other end of the helical member being attached to the adjuustablemember whereby the internal diameter of thehelical member may be variedby rotating the It will be apparent that a corresponding tures in thehousing aligned with the helical member for passage or wiretherethrough.

- ed portion at a point opposite the location of the aperture, a helicalspring member disposed in the chamber, one end of the helical springmember being fixed to the housing at a point adjacent the aperture, athreaded member engaging the threaded portion of the housing, thethreaded member having an aperture, the other end of the helical springmember being fixed to the threaded member, the pitch of the threadsbeing substan tially equal to the longitudinal ,dimension of each helixof the helical spring member whereby when the threaded member is rotatedsaid other end of the helical spring member is likewise rotated and thediameter of the helical spring member is varied without substantialvariation in distance between helixesy. the apertures in the housing andthreaded member being aligned with the interior of the helical springmember for passage of wire 25 therethrough, and locking means to holdthe theaded member in any selected position.

3. In awlping device for controlling the amount and thickness oi!coatings applied to wire comprising a housing having a chamber therein,an aperture at one end oi? the housing leading to the chamber, thehousing having a screw-threaded.

portion at a point opposite the location of the aperture, a helicalspring-member disposed in the chamber, one end of the helical springmember being fixed to the housing .at a point'adjacent the aperture, athreaded member engaging the threaded portion. of the housing, the.threaded member having an aperture, the other end of the helical springmember being fixed to the threaded member, the pitch of the threadsbeing substantially equal to the longitudinal dimension of each helix ofthe helical spring member whereby when the threaded member is rotatedsaid other end of the helical spring member is likewise rotated and thediameter of the helical spring member is varied without substantialvariation in distance between helixes, the apertures in the housing andthreaded member being aligned with the interior of the helical springmember for passage of wire therethrough, locking means to holdthethreaded member in any selected position, and a resilient packingbetween the walls of the chamber and the helical spring member to prevent leakage of wiped off coating material and to prevent buckling orother misalignment of the helical spring member,

4'. In a wiping device for controlling the amount and thickness ofcoatings applied to wire com;-

-60 file of this patent:

cent the aperture, a threaded member engaging the threaded portion 01'the housing, the threaded member having an aperture, the other end orthe helicalspring member being fixed to the is threaded member, thepitch oi the threads being substantially equal to the longitudinaldimension of each helix of the helical springinember whereby when thethreaded member is rotated said other end of the helical spring memberis like- 10 wise rotated and the diameter or the helical spring memberis varied without substantial variation'in distance between helixes, theapertures in the housing and threaded member being aligned with theinterior or the helical spring member for passage of wire therethrough,looking means to hold the threaded member in any selected position, anda resilient packing disposed within the helical spring member, thepacking having a longitudinal passage in line with the apertures, thecoated wire passing through the longitudinal passage.

5. In a wiping device for controlling the amount and thickness ofcoatings applied to wire comprising a housing having a chamber therein,an aperture at one end of the housing leading to the chamber, thehousing having a screw-threaded portion at a point opposite the locationof the aperture,- a helical spring member disposed in the chamber, oneend of the helical spring member being fixed to the housing at a pointadjacent the aperture, a threaded member engaging the threaded portionof the housing, the threaded member having an aperture, the other end orthe helical spring member being fixed to the threaded member, the pitchof the threads being substantially equal tothe longitudinal dimension ofeach helix of the helical spring member whereby when the threaded memberis rotated said other end or the helical spring member is likewise 4orotated and the diameter of the helical spring member is varied withoutsubstantial variation in distance between helixes, the apertures in thehousing and threaded member being aligned with the interior of thehelicalspring member for passage of wire therethrough, locking means tohold the threaded member in any selected position, a resilient packingdisposed within the helical spring member, the packing having alongitudinal passage of polygonal cross-section in line with theapertures, and a plurality of segmental members disposed between theresilient packing and helical spring member to maintain the polygonalcross-section as the helical spring member is variedin diameter.

. LAWRENCE R. HILL.

JOHN J KEYES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the UNITEDSTATES PATENTS Number. Name Date 2,247,547 Fearn July 1, 1941 2,248,663Flynn July 8, 1941 759,801 Bone et al. May 10, 1904

